Student votes needed in NC

As political parties in North Carolina prepare for the Nov. 6 election, student support continues to be a focal point for groups on both sides of the aisle.

On campuses throughout the state, political groups and campaigns are ramping up their efforts to get college students to vote in what most analysts view as a battleground state.

President Barack Obama’s N.C. campaign has strove to encourage college-age students to vote this year because he received a boost from the college vote in 2008, said Rob Abraham, youth vote director for Obama’s N.C. campaign.

“All the young people came out for the president and helped him win in 2008, and again this time (they’re) going to decide what happens on Nov. 6,” Abraham said.

Despite the tough economy and Congressional gridlock, the campaign isn’t worried about a lack of enthusiasm among young voters, said Kal Penn, former associate director for the Office of Public Engagement at the White House and co-star of the “Harold & Kumar” movies.

“The stakes are so high,” he said, adding that especially in North Carolina, a single vote will make a difference. Obama won the state by about 14,000 votes in 2008.

Taylor McLamb, chairwoman of the N.C. State University College Republicans, said she is not concerned about voter enthusiasm either.

“There is a growing concern among students on campus,” she said. “I’m not saying that apathy is totally gone, but this is one of the most crucial elections, and students are coming to terms with that.”
Obama’s N.C. campaign is optimistic that students have taken notice of statewide voting events.

“I’m sure (students) have seen first hand — between the extensive voter registration drives and dorm-to-dorm (registration) on campus — that we have a very strong presence on many college campuses as well,” said Cameron French, press secretary for Obama’s N.C. campaign.

The NCSU Republicans have set up tables where students can register to vote for the first time or change their address so they can vote in the county of their school.

“We’ve been doing a lot of tabling on campus, and we’ve had a table at a football game, which was kind of like a tailgate,” McLamb said.
In addition to tabling, the group has worked with the Republican N.C. Victory organization to host phone banks and conduct door-to-door surveys, she said.

One reason for the increased effort in the state is how close the election is, Penn said.

“If you divided up the margin of what the president won by in 2008, it’s three votes per precinct,” he said, “which is legitimately one college student bringing three buddies with him or one sorority on campus saying, ‘Should the three of us actually go to vote today?’”

Contact the desk editor at state@dailytarheel.com.